TWiG 2008-03-31

Slim Pickings

Wow. When the DS only has two releases for the week, you know things are slowing down.

Somehow, March was a tremendous release month, with a whole pile of huge names and little sleepers to keep things lively throughout the month. April, on the other hand, looks to be one long wait for Grand Theft Auto IV.

Still, that’s not to say (entirely) that there’s nothing of note coming out this week. Anyone who still hasn’t tried Call of Duty 4 is officially out of excuses. Look—I know it was a hugely popular game, but I also know that the WWII-Shooter subgenre is utterly uninteresting to a large segment of people. Generally, I am one of those people. As such, I don’t know if it’s the removal of the brand from WWII or whether the drama and execution of the game is just that good, but…I had two days with Call of Duty 4 before I sent it out for review, and I swear to you, I could not stop talking about it for a solid week, until I actually picked it up. It’s an incredible game, even if the genre is not one that you care to dabble in on a regular basis.

Even so, a few new maps does not a Game of the Week make, and thus, I must bestow the honor on Overclocked: A History of Violence for the PC. A few of us here in PopMatters Multimedia drool like idiots whenever a point-and-click adventure game comes along, and Overclocked is just such an adventure. Not only that, but it’s an adventure that may actually appeal to the survival horror crowd as well.

Here’s an excerpt from the press release:

...step into the world of Overclocked as former army psychiatrist, David McNamara. You are called to the Staten Island Forensic Hospital in New York City to consult on a case that requires your expertise in forensic psychiatry. Tasked with exploring the minds of five young men and women who were found scared, screaming, and without memory, you make alarming discoveries as you begin to cautiously probe the psyches of your young patients…

Sounds interesting, right? If the game can pull off the dread and moodiness that the description inspires, it’ll be fantastic. Of course, that’s a big if.

Are you looking forward to any of this week’s releases? Check ‘em out after the jump.

Mike Schiller is a software engineer in Buffalo, NY. He has blogged and written music and video game reviews for PopMatters since 2004, and also spent a couple years editing the Multimedia section. He also spent five years writing regular game reviews for the Raleigh News & Observer, and has had freelance work published at The Escapist and Polygon.